As a retired person could you live on £10,000 a year.?

[allamberedover]

To cover bills but not housing costs.

I agree but we've had neighbours who, without fail, would change their car every couple of years as it was (in their opinion) a better option to upgrade by a small cost than waiting for years and having to find a lump sum of say over £15K.

@allamberedover Are you going to come back and explain why you asked this? Are you thinking of early retirement and that's your income - early pension?

Surely you'd get some council tax reduction on that income

It varies by council, but in mine you'd get 30% off a band D on that income.

I already get the 25% single person discount on my council tax. Not sure if there are further discounts available if you’re on a low income or an OAP?

I don't think the OP was being serious.

It comes over as a 'thought' without any real substance behind it.

if she was serious she'd be posting and engaging rather than throwing a question out and disappearing.

Waste of energy engaging when she's not.

Overall when people first retire their expenses jump if they have enough money to do stuff they never had time to do before. We just spent a lot on a Motorhome. One of my retired friends who is very early sixties has just been to NZ for 3 months, another goes on cruises. Then as people age they do less and less and life can be quite cheap until serious health issues occur and they need care which costs around the same per week as a Caribbean cruise. But only 10% of people need residential care at all.

Yes, there are discounts for low income, but councils distribute them differently

https://www.gov.uk/apply-council-tax-reduction

Dang! That's particularly vexing given that most of the men I've associated with have been about as much use as a chocolate teapot in an emergency and left me to handle everything 🙄. I will have to emphasise fitness and capability in my profile!

Up to 75% according to local council website

House and content insurance, eye care and dental care, boiler service, clothing/footwear, replacement household items etc will soon clear out any surplus and leave you at best with nothing or at worst debt. Then there is a modest amount of gifting, the occasional social activity, or do you plan sitting in rags and ill fitting shoes and not even buying a bar of chocolate for any children/grandchildren for normal celebratory occasions?

I did housesitting after I retired. I'm a single woman and didn't seem to have sny problems getting places. It is a big responsibility though. I don't mind isolation but looking after a sick goat, getting a reluctant cat to a vet and chasing chickens round a field eventually put me off. (I couldn't catch one chicken but the fox managed it quite easily.)

So that's £833 per month.
Currently my outgoings excluding housing are:
Utilities 120 (and I wfh so am already at home all day).
CT 160 (assuming I didn't get a discount on this)
Food & cat food, household cleaning stuff etc 250
Other bills like Netflix, contents insurance, etc 80

So a total of £610, so that would leave me £220 for anything else. If I got CT relief it could be more. So yes, I could do it and already do to an extent. The rest of my earnings goes to savings/holidays/clothes/house stuff etc.

I'm in SH so no repairs to worry about. Live in London and don't have a car and get a free oyster card at 60. It wouldn't be a luxurious life. The holidays and what not would have to go. But I wouldn't be struggling and would have some money for the odd meal out, hobbies (mine are cheap) gifts etc.

The state pension is £230 p/w, which is £11,960 per year. So on my current costs, I'd be left with £4640 a year for anything else. That's a reasonably healthy budget. Could afford a cheap holiday, replace a broken appliance, a few new clothes and some days out.

Yes that’s the sad thing for me also. I moved into a particular part of my city because as a single woman I wanted to feel safe which this area is more so. However, the houses are mainly larger here and the council tax for me alone even with discount is £190pcm! So although I’m on track to pay off my mortgage before retirement age, I don’t think I’ll be able to afford to actually remain here as a pensioner unless I find a partner which is probably unlikely. So yes bit sad at that thought as it’s a pretty green place with wildlife walks nearby.

Sorry! There are an awful lot of flakey people (hosts as well as sitters) out there, you'll find something.

I think that stressing your practical experience really helps. One of the older women I know stresses that she's been a homeowner for 30 years and mentions her DIY and gardening skills. A lot of the house sitters are young digital nomads who've never actually run or maintained a home and they can be really flakey.

We had friends in London who had a young American couple housesit when they went to Australia for two months last summer. Their house sitters were in constant contact because they had had no hot water. My friends called a plumber out three times, and each time the plumber sorted the problem and charged them £60. Shortly before they were due to fly home my friends finally worked out that the sitters were turning the electricity supply to the boiler off, which prevented it from starting up and providing hot water each day.

So £833 a month.
My current outgoings (not including mortgage) so council tax, internet & TV license, car insurance / tax / service & MOT, utilities, management company fees, mobile, and gym membership add up to £650 a month so no, the rest would easily go on food leaving nothing for contingency, clothing, property maintenance, eating out, holidays etc.
I guess I could ditch the gym and reduce my mobile bill slightly but there's nothing else non-essential to drop there. I've just switched my broadband package to save £20 a month and don't have any add-ons with the TV package.

I only have cat experience really, although I suppose there are relatively few sitters out there with dedicated goat experience! 😱 That looks like the most limiting element for me, but I imagine it means I'll have to start with a couple of less desirable house sits to build my rating up. On the plus side, I do drive ,and speak French and Italian. Will just have to give it a go and see how it works out really!

I've just had a look at the spreadsheet and my projected fixed expenses - gas, electric, water, house insurance, broadband, mobile , TV licence plus groceries as a single person in retirement are 780 a month assuming I got rid of the car.

This assumes I get the single person council tax discount but in reality a person with a 10k income could probably get a more substantial discount depending on the council. It also assumed I stay in the family home, but I could save a bit by moving somewhere smaller. So it's conservative

So that leaves me about 50 pounds a month spare which is doable. I've always been naturally frugal tho and don't feel deprived.

As a single person, yes. If a couple, I think we'd need £12K pa as an absolute minimum.

But you're NOT doing it - you share costs with your husband!

Yes, true, and I did say that but even if I consider some of the key expenses then I think I could manage on my own. Not flourish but manage! We have separate finances so it's easy for me to see things this way.
For example, if I had to pay all the council tax on my own (not allowing for single person discount) then it would be less than £150 council tax per month if calculated over 12 months. I can't be bothered to list all our bills but I know the ball park figure and it's doable.
So, no, you won't be living high on the hog and you really need a pot of savings you only use for extraordinary expenses and emergencies. If the OP is approaching a retirement on this sum I'd say get saving quick and consider how you can streamline your outgoings.

@Oftenaddled ct is over 200 but I get 25% for single so think it’s 157 plus g&e which is £150 which covers a 3 bed semi and can have heating on as much as I want in winter

can’t believe yours are 250 for water g&e ct and c&b

@LittleHouseOnThePrarie daddy blondes is 86 and still driving and with it 😄 so car bills is an addition for him

I can’t imagine him not driving in 4yrs time at 90

Usually, I'd agree with you to some extent. But not in this case. If I was facing retirement on a 10k income then I'd reduce my outgoings permanently eg by downsizing from my old, large house with a big garden in order to keep outgoings down so that I could manage on that income. Very few (if any?) outgoings can't be changed in the longer run, even if they can't be changed straight away. The OP already said to exclude housing costs, which are usually the biggest costs that people can't change quickly.

That makes no sense. It is clearly more expensive to own newer cars. Instead of replacing the car every 2-3 years they could save the cost of upgrading so they would have the money ready to replace the car (at greater cost) later.

@LittleHouseOnThePrarie I'm sorry, I am reading and I am interested .
Others might be as well.
I was posting because a friend is trying to decide if she could manage financially on her own , on this amount.
They don't use MN but I have sent her the link and hope that she will find it useful
It does highlight the need to be able to cope with expenditure for repair/replacement for major items .
Although personally I think a single induction plate and second hand air fryer and or microwave would replace a cooker.
And are available in London.
As are reconditioned fridges .
Of course, it's very subjective and also depends on health, tolerance to cold and if you live in area with good transport .
Etc

And council tax .